Granted Patent B2

US 9,047,631 · App. 13/756,206 · Granted Jun 2, 2015

Abstract

Claims (52)

1. A method of providing assistance to a customer, the method comprising:

receiving a request for human assistance from a customer of a business having a plurality of business locations, via a communication device of the customer;

in response to the request, requesting a location of the customer;

identifying, to the customer via the communication device of the customer, those business locations, of the plurality of business locations, that are within a certain distance of the location of the customer;

receiving, from the customer via the communication device of the customer, a selection of a particular business location from the plurality of business locations within the certain distance of the location of the customer;

accessing information about each of a plurality of customer service agents located at the particular business location selected by the customer;

presenting, to the customer via the communication device of the customer, the information about the plurality of customer service agents and their current availability to interact with the customer;

receiving, from the customer, a request to interact with a particular customer service agent selected by the customer from the plurality of customer service agents at the particular business location selected by the customer; and

sending a notification of the customer request to interact, to a communication device of the particular customer service agent.

2. The method according to claim 1 , the method comprising:

responsive to selection by the customer of the particular customer service agent from the plurality of customer service agents, notifying the particular customer service agent of customer initiation of communication between the customer and the particular customer service agent.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein notifying comprises sending to the communication device of the particular customer service agent a request to contact the customer.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein notifying comprises determining whether the particular customer service agent accepts the request to contact the customer, within a certain amount of time.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein determining whether the particular customer service agent accepts the request to contact the customer within a certain amount of time comprises notifying another customer service agent of the request for assistance, if the particular customer service agent did not accept, within the certain amount of time, the request to contact the customer.

6. The method according to claim 1 , the method comprising:

tracking current availability of the plurality of customer service agents to participate in communication with customers via a communication device of each of the plurality of customer service agents.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the communication device of each of the plurality of customer service agents comprises one of a smart phone and a tablet computer.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the communication device of the customer comprises one of a smart phone and a tablet computer.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein accessing information about the plurality of customer service agents for the particular business location selected by the customer uses customer input identifying a desired department at the particular business location.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the request for assistance comprises a message requesting a call from the customer service agent to the customer.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining requesting a location of the customer comprises determining whether the communication device of the customer is at a location of the business.

12. A non-transient computer readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions executable by a processor, the instructions to cause the processor to perform actions of a method of providing assistance to a customer, the actions comprising:

receiving a request for human assistance from a customer of a business having a plurality of business locations, via a communication device of the customer;

in response to the request, requesting a location of the customer;

identifying, to the customer via the communication device of the customer, those business locations, of the plurality of business locations, that are within a certain distance of the location of the customer;

receiving, from the customer via the communication device of the customer, a selection of a particular business location from the plurality of business locations within the certain distance of the location of the customer;

accessing information about each of a plurality of customer service agents located at the particular business location selected by the customer;

presenting, to the customer via the communication device of the customer, the information about the plurality of customer service agents and their current availability to interact with the customer;

receiving, from the customer, a request to interact with a particular customer service agent selected by the customer from the plurality of customer service agents at the particular business location selected by the customer; and

sending a notification of the customer request to interact, to a communication device of the particular customer service agent.

13. The non-transient computer readable medium according to claim 12 , wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform actions comprising:

responsive to selection by the customer of the particular customer service agent from the plurality of customer service agents, notifying the particular customer service agent of customer initiation of communication between the customer and the particular customer service agent.

14. The non-transient computer readable medium according to claim 13 , wherein notifying comprises sending to the communication device of the particular customer service agent a request to contact the customer.

15. The non-transient computer readable medium according to claim 14 , wherein notifying comprises determining whether the particular customer service agent accepts the request to contact the customer, within a certain amount of time.

16. The non-transient computer readable medium according to claim 15 , wherein determining whether the particular customer service agent accepts the request to contact the customer within a certain amount of time comprises notifying another customer service agent of the request for assistance, if the particular customer service agent did not accept, within the certain amount of time, the request to contact the customer.

17. The non-transient computer readable medium according to claim 12 , the instructions causing the processor to perform actions comprising:

tracking current availability of the plurality of customer service agents to participate in communication with customers via a communication device of each of the plurality of customer service agents.

18. The non-transient computer readable medium according to claim 17 , wherein the communication device of each of the plurality of customer service agents comprises one of a smart phone and a tablet computer.

19. The non-transient computer readable medium according to claim 12 , wherein the communication device of the customer comprises one of a smart phone and a tablet computer.

20. The non-transient computer readable medium according to claim 12 , wherein accessing information about the plurality of customer service agents for the particular business location selected by the customer uses customer input identifying a desired department at the particular business location.

21. The non-transient computer readable medium according to claim 12 , wherein the request for assistance comprises a message requesting a call from the customer service agent to the customer.

22. The non-transient computer readable medium according to claim 12 , wherein requesting a location of the customer comprises determining whether the communication device of the customer is at a location of the business.

23. A system for providing assistance to a customer, the system comprising:

at least one processor for communicatively coupling to communication devices of customers and customer service agents of a business having a plurality of business locations, the at least one processor operable to, at least:

receive a request for human assistance from a customer of the business, via a communication device of the customer;

in response to the request, request a location of the customer;

identify, to the customer via the communication device of the customer, those business locations, of the plurality of business locations within a certain distance of the location of the customer;

receive, from the customer via the communication device of the customer, a selection of a particular business location from the plurality of business locations within the certain distance of the location of the customer;

access information about each of a plurality of customer service agents located at the particular business location selected by the customer;

present, to the customer via the communication device of the customer, the information about the plurality of customer service agents and their current availability to interact with the customer;

receive, from the customer, a request to interact with a particular customer service agent selected by the customer from the plurality of customer service agents at the particular business location selected by the customer; and

send a notification of the customer request to interact, to a communication device of the particular customer service agent.

Assignments (18)